distilling

[Appljak]

Can you use stainless steel to boil in but a voter tube to cool? What are the benefits of a copperpot?

[Zymurgy Bob]

I’d guess more home distillers use stainless boilers than copper, although if you are externally heated, copper has much better thermal transmissivity, which it allows it to move more heat into your mash with fewer hotspots. I’m not sure what you mean by “voter tube” but you will get cleaner tasting (lower sulfide levels) spirit if there is some copper in the vapor path, although Eastern European vodka stillers swear by no copper in the vapor path. I’m not exactly sure why that is, but everyone else wants copper in the vapor path.

My personal still uses a stainless keg boiler with all-copper riser and condenser.

[Beerdcomb]

Like Zymurgy Bob said- stainless works great- if you are using stainless it is best to to incorporate copper in someplace- normally in the column. A lot of the new startup distilleries are using stainless pots and copper columns (it is less expensive to get started in this fashion) and I’ve had product from quite a few of these distilleries and it is quite good. If money is no issues then I would suggest going with 100% copper, but that is not the case for most of us.

[Appljak]

Ok. Thank you. And that was supposed to be copper not voter Zymurgy.

[Author]

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